In a news that was broken by Hindi news channel News1, a sting operation by them revealed that Mohammad Akram Saifi had asked an Uttar Pradesh based player, Rahul Sharma to provide prostitute in return for his spot in the team. Rahul Sharma alleged that he was asked to pay in ‘cash and kind’.

In the latest update regarding the allegation against Mohammad Akram Saifi, the executive assistant to IPL chief Rajeev Shukla, it has come to notice that Akram has resigned from his post. 

This comes a day after Akram was accused to have asked a UP player for prostitutes in exchange for his selection to the team. When contacted, Akram confirmed the development while denying all the charges. He stated, “I have submitted my resignation to the board CEO Rahul (Johri) sir and Rajeev sir. Truth will come out soon. All allegations against me are baseless.”

The executive assistant was also accused by the player Rahul Sharma to be involved in corruption and issuing of fake age certificates to the players. Keeping these allegations in mind, the BCCI has initiated an official probe in the matter with Anti-Corruption Unit chief Ajit Singh. Keeping with the Rule 32 of the BCCI regulations, any complaint of misconduct is to be subject to the adjudication of a commissioner, who will be appointed by the BCCI president. The commissioner will have to submit a report in 15 days and the matter will then be under the jurisdiction of the disciplinary committee. For this investigation, Singh has sought the audio tapes allegedly proving the charges.

Uttar Pradesh Cricket Association joint secretary Yudhveer Singh however has distanced the state board from the matter. He was reported as saying, ““We are open to any inquiry. We follow a very transparent selection process at the UPCA. I can’t comment on the conversation between the two as it is their personal matter,” he told PTI. “I have checked about Rahul Sharma and found out that he has never even been a part of the state probable. He has no credibility.”

This affair has deeply saddened former Indian cricketers Mohammad Kaif and RP Singh. While Kaif lamented the inroads, corruption has made and its effect on young players, RP Singh took to twitter to express his anguish! He tweeted, “Corruption has been the root cause for the sad state of UP cricket and it stands exposed today. Shame that the future of young talent and UP cricket is compromised for personal gains. Hope fair investigation would help restore the dignity of the sport to its former glory.”